Building a Medieval Forge and Blacksmith Shop by Hand | Anglo-Saxon Blacksmithing

The Anglo-Saxons smelted bog iron, heated metal and forged iron tools in simple furnaces and forges powered by hand bellows.

Simple goatskin bag bellows were used, in the Roman style, blowing air into a clay forge. The hot iron was wrought on a small stump anvil.

A single goatskin was used to make each bellows, cutting a simple bag shape with a funnel. At the top, the bellows have an inset gusset which facilitates air flow into the bellows as they are opened at the handles.

A Y-shaped wooden tuyere was carved and bored out, as have been found in Germanic contexts. The tuyere can be connected to the bellows with simple leather tubes and lashing.

The tuyere was extended with an unfired clay tube, made of earth and straw mixed in the same way as daub. This sacrificial tuyere keeps the wooden tuyere away from the forge, so it doesn't burn. As the clay is unfired, it was kept damp with a wet woollen cloth.

The forge, made of earth and straw, is formed into shape; two curved walls which hold the charcoal, one with a hole in the bottom to allow air flow into the forge from the bellows.

The forge was started with wood and straw, but requires charcoal to heat iron to forging temperature.

Old wrought iron bar was the metal to be heated and wrought. Anglo-Saxon iron was also wrought, in the form of smelted bog iron or recycled Roman and Romano-British iron.

The bar was pushed into the forge and the bellows worked until the metal came up to heat.

A nail was forged by drawing out the bar into a thin spike on the stump anvil. This was then cut off at the side of the anvil, heated at the head, and hammered into a nail header to form the head of the nail.

This is the very first time I have struck hot metal, and found it both fascinating and extremely fun! I have a lot to learn, being a complete beginner, but am looking forward to developing this new skill.

To the Anglo-Saxons the art of smelting and forging metal was seen as mysterious, magical; a craft of the gods and spirit world; the highest form of alchemy. It is easy to understand why when you stare into the bright coals, the forge seeming to belch hot sparks with every breath of the bellows, like a dragon reincarnate.

With thanks to:
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.

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Goes to show how much time and work went into making nails. Nails were valuable back then because of this and so were often reused, with the exception of nails that were used to make doors. These nails were often hammered and curled over to stop thieves easily removing them to get access to the door's lock. Since these nails could not be reused they were considered 'dead'. Hence the expression "as dead as a door nail".

[jaded]

I cant fully describe how happy it makes me to watch a Primitive Technology video except it’s Anglo-Saxon

[dorianmilam]

When the hammer fell apart I thought "well, nothing has changed in thousands of years!" Wonderful video!!!!

[Tybrarian]

So much work for a simple nail. We really take things for granted.

[martywilsonlife]

This reminds me of the old saying:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, For want of the shoe, the horse was lost, For want of a horse, the rider was lost, For want of a rider, the battle was lost, For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

And now we realize how much went into those horseshoe nails. Super well done!

[BultitoAsesino]

I know old timey Anglo-Saxon didn't have no sunscreen but they didn't have as many carcinogenics as we do, so protect your skin!! We want this content to keep coming!

[adjsmith]

My brother is (was) a blacksmith. He only brought me into his shop once. We forged a coathook out of a railroad tie. The thing I remember most about striking the hot iron was, how much work it was! It was simultaneously more *and* less malleable than I expected. It was like striking a rock that was made out of clay.

Great content, by the way. I have been enjoying these videos ever since finding them.

[lpeterman]

As a fellow woodworker/timber framer and novice blacksmith (forging 18th C. musket tools for re-enactors) I can only give you one piece of advice: Practice. (Even the simplest of repetitive tasks can have great benefits eventually.)
Practice forge work, as much you're able to, whenever you can. (Watch other 'smiths, even novices, as they've had to have learned from someone!)
Cheers from a distant "cousin" in the Oregon Country, with both DEEP Saxon and (gasp!) Norman roots, really enjoying the content.

[davidsauls]

Your filming and editing are getting ever better. You are very successful at getting more people interested in history, heritage. Thank You Sir !

[saliadee]

This channel is so atmospheric. Even the shots of the plants look like their quivering in the distant past.

[kay_su]

These videos are such a breath of fresh air

[saxonhermit]

That's a good-looking nail! Reminds me of my first one. If you can, I'd recommend covering the ground or floor of your workspace with sand, as it mitigates the possibility of accidental fires and provides a ready source of material for abrading the surface of your finished work if you want it to have a smoother finish.

[leecogdell]

I am simply amazed at how much patience you have when you’re getting things set up and your attention to detail is very impressive and I’ve often wondered how people so long ago would have done this and the way you have handled it is amazing!

[fallonfireblade]

Unintended voice reveal! 😂 And despite the broken hammer handle, for your first time embarking on a whole new trade that people usually TRAIN for, I think that's amazing! You successfully made a nail on your first try!

[terryteed]

Awesome stuff. I really thought you'd struggle, but in the end, YOU NAILED IT. I want to come and live for a while

[livinginfictions]

As a lover and student of antiquity, the content of your videos feels like home. I adore seeing aspects of antiquity in a natural, everyday context for those of the times. It feels much different than a general demonstration, when you're putting together a home and providing for it through each of the new tasks you accomplish. Every new branching idea has a purpose that the average person living in the times might have shared. Gotta get rid of this grass for my garden, might as well make a beehive. Broke my tool, gotta make a new one. Missed the chance to get nails from the traveling blacksmith this season, time to set up a forge.
It's refreshing and humanizing and gives people in times long past a lot more respect and intelligence than they're often given

[jimwalker]

Brilliant demonstration, just love this channel, one of the very best on YouTube

[stonyjupiter]

Wow. I never thought that you could use so small piece of metal as an anvil. Well, i think it is probably better if you do not want to make something more complex in metalworking. That's brilliant! It is much, much easier to transport, better for someone who will start their journey with smithing, maybe even longer, since getting full size one might be difficult and it might cost much more. Also i like that bellows that are in shape of lungs in some way. Simply fascinating.

[ewigesgermanien]

This fine man needs to build his own saxon village ❤

[hugodesrosiers-plaisance]

Great material! When the hammer flew appart, man, I felt your sigh in my bones. 😂
If I may suggest something: red hot metal, hammers and bare feet don't go so well together! If that hammer head had landed on your toes... 😅